Chapter 14

"Can I tell daddy?"

"What?" Weena'd beat me home.

"Can I tell daddy about your future?"

"I'd rather you didn't." She pouted. "Maybe when he's here in a month or two."

"OK. I'm calling him now. I'm tired of early morning calls."

"Fine. Then you can tell me about your day. Oh, did you mention your teaching to him?"

"I think so." She went off to call.

I called my folks on my mobile — something I hadn't done often enough. Everyone seemed fine. I said that we were "pretty much" settled in, though there were a few boxes of books, still. I told of Charlie's and Maddy's visit, avoiding the necessity of lying while relying on omission. Weena was still on the phone, so I called Matilda Bay for reservations — it was Friday evening, after all. They had space at eight. I took it; it was seven already.

When Weena emerged, I told her of the reservation. "You've only 40 minutes to get dressed!" I laughed. "And you'd better call Michiko!"

"Damn! And I've got news from daddy! It'll wait, I guess." She grabbed the piece of paper with the Eyres' number and ran upstairs.

We were taken to a table against a wall, far from the panoramic windows. That was fine, as we'd come to talk over dinner. I ordered a bottle of the Viognier — I'd never heard of it two weeks ago — and we studied the menus. I ordered scallops, Weena had mussels.

"OK. What did your father say?"

"Well. He's through working at the mine on March 11^th. He's going to pack his stuff over the weekend and have all the boxed stuff — mostly pictures, books and papers — shipped to us. His clothing and such he'll pack into his truck. He's driving down to Kalgoorlie for a few days — he said something about talking to a hydraulics company — and he'll be here the next weekend. He'll work out exactly when while he's in Kalgoorlie. He's promised to consult with FMG in East Perth on occasion after May 1^st. So he'll have over a month to look at places and decide where he wants to live."

"Wow! That's a lot. Won't he want to be in Perth if he's consulting?"

"I bet not. It's 400 kilometers to Denmark and less than half of that to Bunbury. That's not too far to drive if you're only commuting occasionally. And Margaret River and Augusta are in between."

"And Kalgoorlie to here?"

"Hmmm. That must be 600 or so. Maybe he'll spend the night somewhere. Merredin's OK. It's about halfway. And we drove from Laverton to Kalgoorlie. So you know what that's like."

"Kalgoorlie's gold mining. What's Merredin?"

"You better learn, Mr. CSIRO Director! Merredin's the center of the wheat belt."

"Oh. I guess I've lots to learn. But keep that down."

Weena giggled. She'd had too much wine. I paid and we drove home.

"I really like waking up with you," I said in the morning.

"Gosh! And it's three months."

"For the rest of my life." I got a big hug and kiss. "What's the schedule?"

"We're due at chez Eyre around 3:30 or so. We should run the vacuum over everything and do laundry. Bless you for the towels and linens."

"No problem. You wash up. I'll start coffee, then shower and shave. Tomorrow is a real day of rest, OK?"

"Yes, master."

I was on my second cup of coffee when I asked: "Are we bringing something?"

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Why don't we leave a bit early and stop for flowers?"

"Good thinking. I'll look up florists on the web." It wasn't difficult. "There's a place on Scarborough Beach Road, just south of Trigg."

"Well, that shouldn't be tough."

Just then the phone rang. "Hollister."

"She said yes!" It was Charlie.

"That's great! Is she there?"

"Yep."

"Well, put her on, and then I'll let her chatter to Weena."

"Hello, Gordy. First thing, thanks for a lovely week and a kick in the head."

"No problem. Congratulations. Let me get Weena ... Weena! Pick up the phone." As soon as I heard her pick up, I got off. Only a few minutes later I heard her on the stairs.

"Isn't that great!"

"Yes. I thought that I'd either have that effect or have her undying hate. When will they do it?"

"At least a month. They'll file in the Alice. When would that make it?" I looked at the calendar.